About

$13,312

pledged of $12,000 goal

1,106

backers

Gameplay: Back to bed is a 3D puzzle game taking place in surreal environments, containing optical illusions as well as helpful and dangerous objects. The player is not the one trying to get to the end of the puzzle, but is instead trying to help a sleepwalker to the safety of his bed. The challenge is to use and manipulate the different objects, to steer the sleepwalker to safety.

Story: Back to Bed’s story is about Bob the sleepwalker and his subconscious guardian Subob. Bob suffers from narcolepsy and has an unlucky habit of sleepwalking in dangerous locations, such as rooftops. Luckily for Bob, his subconsciousness always tries to protect him in the form of Subob, a small creature springing from the mind of Bob. As Subob, the player’s challenge is now, to protect Bob from the dangers of both the real world and his dreams.

DADIU: Back to Bed was originally developed in a student production under the Danish Academy for Digital Interactive Entertainment (DADIU), in the fall of 2011. The members of the production team was made up of student from different universities, art schools, and the Danish Film School. The goal of the production was for student to experience being a part of a full production team, complete with roles and responsibilities. The result of the production is a game with a dozen level and a bunch of different mechanics for puzzles.

The current team consists of a mix between two small indie developers and extra people brought in on the production for their skill sets. The two companies are Bedtime Gaming and Rusty Dice Digital Games, both have core members from the original team, such as the original designers. The team members have all worked with different aspects of game production during their education and a large part of us have experience from other small indie games. We all have the common goal of creating a game that is not just fun, but also provide an artistic and a unique visual experience.

Here is an interview with our Project Manager and Art Director, during the Nordic Game Indie Night

The reception for Back to Bed as a student project was beyond our expectations. The panel which reviewed the productions are all experienced members of the game industry and all agreed that we should finish and release the game. Over the next year we worked on and off on the game, fixing bugs and designing new elements. We were helped along by DADIU Greenhouse, a group helping students develop their games into finished products.Now we are in the last stretch of the production, all we are missing is the final funding and some hard work.

Over the last year we have gotten some positive reviews, mentions and even won an award. All of these have helped us immensely, giving us a huge motivational factor and publicity. Worth mentioning is here some of the attention we got:

The backing will go towards the final stretch of the production. We decided to gather together as many people as we can from both the original student team, and the two indie companies working together on the production. This means expenses for transport, lodging, and basic necessities.

Apart from the resources for finishing the game there is also the case of licenses for the software we use. The original game was done with student licenses, so at this point the production has to secure new ones to publish the game.

So what does this final production period add to the game?

New content: First of all we are redoing most of the old levels and adding new ones. Our goal is to end up with 30 different levels, adding in new mechanics as the player progresses through them. These levels will be split into two worlds, the first being the original, and the second being a whole new world with a maritime theme and dangers inspired by this.

iPad version: Along with a new world and many new levels we are working on making the game run smoothly on the iPad platform. The game lends itself very well to the casual feel of the tablet, and the best response to the game so far, have been the early iPad version. The painted and surreal look of the game give the feeling of playing in a painting with the handheld tablet.

After the iPad release we will update the newest version of the game to a PC and Mac version, and release it, either on our own or through a digital distributor.

Risks and challenges

We feel that the risks related to the production of Back to Bed are minor. They relate to the tweaking and release, since the core game is already done, and the concept is proven. However, as with all game productions there will always be some risks.

One of our big fears, was that the game wouldn’t run smoothly on the iPad. However, it turns out that with a few optimisations, the game is able to run just as well as is does on the PC. The challenge now is to create a control scheme which feels intuitive on a tablet. We got some pretty good ideas to do just that!

One thing is to get a game on the App store, but the real challenge is to get noticed on the App store. With a limited PR budget we won’t be doing any advertisement. Instead we hope that the uniqueness of our game and your support will keep it from drowning in the ocean of other games on the App store.

The last risk is that we cannot make any guarantees on when the PC/Mac version is ready for release. Most likely the version will be produced shortly after the iPad version is done, since only a few tweaks in controls and graphics are needed. Since many members of the production team have other projects and jobs to return to, we can’t precisely schedule a completion date yet. In the end we consider this as a very low risk, since we love our game and the tweaking needed is limited.

Support

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Thumbs up: Any help is appreciated, and you will help us realise our goals for the game. You will have our gratitude and know that you supported a game that pushes the boundaries of art and entertainment.

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A physical signed artwork: For being this generous you will get all of the above, but also something special to show of your support of an artistic indie game; framed artwork from the game, signed by our art director.